Dudgeon Community Fund awards further grants in Norfolk
Weybourne Village Hall will benefit from a Dudgeon Community Fund grant
At a meeting earlier this month, the Dudgeon Community Fund panel awarded a total of £126,500 to twenty one community projects in Norfolk.
The aim of the Dudgeon Community Fund during 2016 is to support a wide range of charitable, voluntary community activities and infrastructure projects in communities directly impacted by the onshore construction activities associated with infrastructure and operations base of the Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm.
For the last eighteen months, work has progressed installing the underground onshore electricity cable for the Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm from the coastal village of Weybourne in North Norfolk to Necton, near Swaffham in the Breckland district of Norfolk. A total of eleven community projects along this cable route received grants, with a further five projects being supported in and around Necton where the construction of wind farm‘s onshore electricity substation is nearing completion.
Around half of these grant awards are associated with the upkeep and improvement of village halls and community centres, facilities which are a very important part of community life in Norfolk’s villages.
In the port town of Great Yarmouth where the Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm Operations Centre has just been completed, five organisations which provide community support to individuals and family groups were awarded grants.
Adele Os, Asset Manager of the Dudgeon Offshore Wind Farm said,
“It was pleasing to see grant applications to the Community Fund for a diverse range of projects, and we look forward to hearing how these grants help deliver benefits in the communities impacted by our construction activities.”
Dudgeon Offshore Wind Limited, which holds the licenses and consents to enable it to construct the Dudgeon offshore wind farm, is owned by two Norwegian companies, Statoil and Statkraft, and Abu Dhabi's renewable energy company, Masdar. Statoil holds the responsibility as operator for both the construction and the operational phase.
Statoil is an international energy company with operations in 33 countries. Building on 40 years of experience from oil and gas production on the Norwegian continental shelf, it is committed to accommodating the world's energy needs in a responsible manner, applying technology and creating innovative business solutions. It is headquartered in Stavanger, Norway with approximately 23,000 employees worldwide, and is listed on the New York and Oslo stock exchanges.
Statkraft is Europe's largest generator of renewable energy and is the leading power company in Norway. The company owns, produces and develops hydropower, wind power, gas power and district heating. Statkraft is a major player in European power trading and has 3,600 employees in more than 20 countries.
Masdar is Abu Dhabi's renewable energy company advancing the development, commercialisation and deployment of clean energy technologies and solutions. The company serves as a link between today’s fossil fuel economy and the energy economy of the future. Wholly owned by the Mubadala Development Company PJSC, the strategic investment company of the Government of Abu Dhabi, Masdar is dedicated to the Emirate’s long-term vision for the future of energy and water.
For further information please contact:
Nigel Tompkins [the Norfolk contact for media and community enquiries].
New Ideas for Business
T: 01263 822427
M: 07860 206565
E: nigel@ni4b.co.uk
Issue date: 25-10-16